“Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of
God.” (Romans 15:7, NKJV)
You know, one of the major problems in our society is the problem of acceptance
and appreciation. We have not yet learned to accept those who look different,
think different, who come from different backgrounds or live different types of
lives. It seems we want everything and everyone to fit into our own little, small
minded, warped since of what the world should look like.
Yet, the reality is that God has made us all different. We are a diverse,
multicultural, multi-ethnic, pluralistic people. None of us thinks, acts, lives,
believes, sounds or looks alike. We are a uniquely different, special, significant,
important people. And as Paul informs us from this verse, we must embrace our
differences and “receive one another, just as Christ also received us . . .”
We must learn to accept and appreciation everyone. Our differences should not
make us fearful of one another. They should make us appreciate one another even
more. We should celebrate each other rather than ridicule, ostracize, denigrate and
demoralize each other. All of us, the whole of humanity, need to learn the lesson
of ACCEPTANCE AND APPRECIATION.